


Return to You

by Komorii



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Annette and Mercedes being the best, Ashe is precious, F/M, Set after game end but no S rank happened, Slight Canon Divergence, Smut, reader is byleth, spoilers for blue lions route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-12-17 12:07:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21054143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komorii/pseuds/Komorii
Summary: You felt trapped, and you thought at the time that it could only be solved by leaving the monastery and your life there behind, but as time went on, you realized your mistake and could not resist the urge to return and make up for lost time just in time for the annual ball.





	Return to You

**Author's Note:**

> Only slight canon divergence in this one, in that Lady Rhea resumed control of the church after being rescued; other than that, it's as normal. Also, I'm trying to make a one shot for each of the Blue Lions boys (sorry not you, Dedue…) and Sylvain's is currently being written!

You had been feeling antsy for a while after you had gotten back to Garreg Mach after Edelgard was finally defeated. Lady Rhea had been rescued and once again stepped up as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros and arrangements had been made for more students to join the academy as soon as routes were cleared safe and treaties had been formed to unite the land under King Dimitri’s rule. Relative peace had settled on the land, but that didn’t mean that no dissenters were left who wished harm on Fódlan. Quite a few of your former students were happy to come back as teachers at the academy, but you were feeling more and more restless as the days went by and the beginning of the school year rapidly approached. You wanted to be out in the world again, helping the citizens of Fódlan yourself. Not sent out sparingly for missions with students, but making the world a better place with your own power. You could no longer be a teacher, your racing mind would not allow it.

You had arranged to see Lady Rhea early in the morning when not even Seteth had joined her in her chamber yet. She listened as you explained your request, her eyes as sad as the day she lost you to the cliff, but she took what you had to say seriously.

“You wish to travel as a mercenary again?” she clarified, and you nodded resolutely.

“Very well. You have been a great ally to the church, but I see so much of your father within you. I will not stop you from doing what you feel you need to do,” she told you.

You were about to leave when she raised a hand to stop you from turning away from her.

“Will you not tell the others before you leave?” she asked, eyes full of concern. “They all care for you and will be hurt if you do not tell them yourself.”

You knew that she was right. But you also knew what would happen. None of them wanted you to leave, especially since you did not yet know if you would ever return once you left. They would be upset at you for leaving without telling them, but there was no other option in your mind. It especially hurt at the moment to picture Ashe, who had been as excited to be a teacher alongside you, robbed of that chance. But you had to leave, and you knew that you would not have the strength to do so if any of them tried to convince you otherwise. So you shook your head, eyes breaking contact with Rhea, and she smiled sadly.

“I will tell them, then,” she volunteered. “Professor… please stay safe. There will always be a place for you if you ever want to return to us.”

You nodded and then turned your back to her and left the audience chamber. You had felt so strongly about this decision that you had already packed what few important things you wanted to take with you, and you briskly walked back to your dormitory to get your bag, slinging it over one shoulder. You looked at the rising dawn as you walked out and away from Garreg Mach, regretful that you were leaving, but knowing nothing else would ease your restless soul.

Ashe had been a broken man since the day you had left. Rhea had asked for him to come to her private study mid-morning that day, and he had presumed that it was related to his new teaching position at the academy. Never did he imagine that it would be to tell him that you had left, and were possibly never coming back. He should have known the moment he walked in and saw Rhea’s serious expression that something was wrong. Bandits, or maybe slightly larger than usual class sizes were things he would have easily believed were the problem. Not you. He put on a brave face for Lady Rhea, telling her that he hoped you found what you were looking for, and then Lady Rhea allowed him to leave, as she easily saw through his façade of courage. His heart was crumbling piece by piece as he walked to his room, feeling emotionless and barely able to move one foot ahead of the other. Arriving at his room, he realized that he couldn’t recall the walk over at all.

He made it only a few steps into his room before he collapsed upon himself, barely managing to close the door behind him. The tears came easily as he reached into one of his drawers to hold the simple silver banded ring with a green stone in the center to his chest. He felt like his entire future had been stolen from him. He knew he should be upset with you, hate you, blame you for what had happened, but he loved you so much that all he could do was weep with despair. He wished that you would have told him that you wanted to leave; he would go anywhere if it meant that he would be by your side. But he understood why you chose not to say goodbye. You didn’t want to interfere with his decision to stay here. Although you had not realized he was so excited to be a teacher in large part because he would be where you would be. He could only hope that someday you would come back to him. He would wait forever for you.

Ashe was one of the most popular teachers at the academy. He was knowledgeable and kind, and the students all loved him; the boys admired his skills and the girls were smitten by his handsome profile. They all adored the caring professor, but they didn’t have the background knowledge that some of the others at the monastery did.

Annette and Mercedes had both taken positions within the school as well, both happy to pass their skills on to the next generation and keep the world as peaceful as it had become after the war. The lively and kind Ashe the new students saw did not fool them for one second. They had been informed of your departure soon after Ashe had, and had both been devastated, not only within themselves but for their friend as well. Anyone could see how Ashe loved you, except you. Mercedes knew that if you had known about his feelings, you would not have left him like that. He put his all into his new job as a teacher, but they had both noticed that his smile dropped whenever he thought he was alone. He stopped reading for pleasure, and Annette assumed it was because it reminded him too much of the times Ashe had talked to you about the books he had read. They knew he thought about you a lot, even after many months of you being gone with no messages or signs of returning, and Mercedes and Annette both felt helpless to help their friend out of his unending sorrow.

Annette had baked Ashe some sweets that had always cheered her up when she was feeling down, and Mercedes had tried to talk to him, but neither tactic worked. Ashe put his all into his work and seemed hollow through it all, but never let his feelings affect the quality of his teaching. Annette had tried to get him excited about the upcoming ball that the church was putting on, and reminisced about the ball the year they were all students in this place. Ashe replied in kind, but Annette noticed he purposefully left out any mention of you. It was obvious that his mind was always on you, but he went out of his way not to mention any memories that concerned you. It was as if he would crumble on the spot if he even thought about you around others. Annette couldn’t even remember the last time Ashe had said your name out loud.

This ball would be a success, the women decided, even if they had to force Ashe to eat some food and do some dancing. He would enjoy the event, that they were determined to see through. Which would begin with them getting together the morning of the ball and making their special puffed pastries, the ones that their students couldn’t get enough of every time they made them. They giggled about their later plans as they purchased some ingredients at the marketplace, getting everything they needed rather easily. Annette looked up to Mercedes curiously when her friend did not respond to a question she had asked, but her eyes were elsewhere.

“Annie!” Mercedes gasped, hand grabbing her friend’s shoulder as she pointed over to the gate just as a small hooded figure entered, the hood doing nothing to dissuade the two women of their immediate surety at the identity of the figure.

You just felt numb after a while. You were a one-woman army, wiping out bandits and rescuing innocent people from dangerous situations. You were doing what you wanted… what you _thought_ you wanted to do, so why was it that you saw Ashe’s face every time you closed your eyes? No matter what you did, you could not help but recall the look in Ashe’s eyes when you had to go after his adoptive father, when he learned of the death of someone he cared about, when he was forced to kill or be killed by his former classmates. You hadn’t died, but you had left Garreg Mach, left _him_, without planning to ever return. Your chest burned when you realized just how stupid you had been.

You knew that you were missing something, and you thought that you would find it out here, travelling around and helping people as you had once done with your father. But being alone just highlighted for you all that you had left behind when you made such a dumb, rash decision. Some villages would throw a celebration when you rid their travel routes of bandits, but you never went, instead forgoing sleep to travel onto the next place. You had just left another town at sundown when you realized that you had absentmindedly been obeying your own secret wants when the path you were on started to seem familiar. You realized immediately that you were only a few hours travel from Garreg Mach.

Immediately you felt the need to turn around and go back, find a route that would lead you elsewhere. You hurt everyone by leaving like that, and you knew it. If you went back now, you were not sure that you would never feel the desire to leave again. You couldn’t go back now and then hurt them all over again. You tried in vain to convince yourself that going back would be a bad choice, but you knew it was useless. You wanted to see everyone again, and you knew it. You wanted to see Ashe so badly that it hurt, and you would sprint all night to get there if it meant that you could see him sooner. But you had to admit that after fighting for hours, you would probably collapse before you could make it there. You begrudgingly set up to sleep in a grassy field, knowing you would be up as soon as you got enough sleep to be functional and back on the road to the monastery.

You had no idea what time it was when you woke up, but the sun had almost fully risen, and you brushed the grass off of your clothes and packed your few belongings and set off to continue onwards to the place you were aching to be. You walked for hours without stopping, but your feet did not feel sore at all. Eventually your feelings of guilt were overtaken almost entirely with excitement to be back, especially now that you were close enough to see the monastery in the distance. You had to resist the urge to run as you got closer and closer to the marketplace entrance. As you reached the gate, you adjusted the hood of your cloak; you thought it would be smarter to make a stealthy entrance and not attract too much attention and get swarmed. Looking around to see the merchants conducting business as usual made you feel like you hadn’t been away for months, and the familiarity relaxed you. You were so caught up, however, that you failed to notice two women sneaking up to you until they each linked an arm through one of yours and began to somewhat drag you towards the entrance of the monastery.

Panicked, you looked over to see Annette and Mercedes on either side of you. You must have looked as startled and confused as you felt, because Mercedes just giggled at you with a smile.

“We knew it was you right away, Professor,” she told you.

“Yeah!” Annette chimed in. “We’d know it was you even if you wore a full suit of armor made out of peacock feathers!”

You weren’t sure where Annette had acquired that metaphor, but you allowed them to take you around the corner and past the fishing pond and greenhouse, and straight into Mercedes’ room. Annette waved off the concerns of a professor you passed on your way, informing them that she and Mercedes were simply showing a new student around, and the professor let you on your way. Annette quickly closed the door behind her and they both let go of their hold on your arms.

“I felt bad lying to a professor, even though I know we’re professors now too!” Annette confessed with a guilty smile.

“I feel the same way, Annie!” Mercedes agreed, before their glances both settled on you.

“Professor!” Annette cried out as she hugged you with more force than you thought she possessed. “We thought you were never coming back!”

Mercedes smiled warmly at you before she joined the hug as well. “We all missed you dearly!”

You found their enthusiasm contagious and returned their smiles as your hood fell entirely off your head from the force of their hugs. They eventually pulled back and allowed you to breathe again. You knew you should say something, but nothing you could think of would undo the hurt you had caused by taking off without saying anything so many months ago.

“Please do not worry,” Mercedes said. “You do not have to explain things to us right this moment.”

“That’s right!” Annette added. “And besides, there’s the ball tonight to worry about!”

You blinked as you took in the information. It was around the right time of year for the ball, but there hadn’t been one in so long that it had slipped your mind. You remembered the one and only ball you had been present for as Annette suddenly squealed in joy.

“Mercie, do you still have that dress that you made for the fall festival?” Annette asked.

“Oh, yes!” Mercedes nodded, pulling a basket out from under her bed and retrieving a beautiful blue dress from inside while Annette looked at you sternly.

“I know I said we could talk about this later, but you can’t just leave us like that again!” she said, but she didn’t seem angry. Mercedes looked sad, but did not interrupt Annette. “Mercie and I have each other, but you’re everything to Ashe.”

“He’s been so sad since you left,” Mercedes added. “But you’re looking just as sad now, Professor.”

“I… want to see him,” you admitted, head hung low. You didn’t deserve to see Ashe after the pain you had caused him, but the women in front of you did not agree.

“Well, great!” Annette cheered. “Because we’re going to get you ready to surprise him at the ball!”

“I have the perfect shade of eyeshadow to compliment your hair,” Mercedes added.

You were surprised, but allowed Mercedes to seat you in her chair. In truth, you were grateful that you would have more time to work up the nerve to see him. You just hoped that he didn’t hate you. Annette told you that they had been in the process of making some pastries for the event, and so she decided to do it alone to not disappoint the students, leaving you in Mercedes’ care, but not before telling you both that she would be back immediately after she had finished baking. After Annette gave you one more hug and left, Mercedes spoke up.

“Professor… did you sleep in mud? You’re filthy.”

You hadn’t realized until now, but she was right. You were in no state to attend a ball with your current level of cleanliness. Mercedes simply laughed and then put the hood of your cloak back on and ushered both of you to the bath house. After checking that it was empty, Mercedes stood guard outside while you bathed quickly and then redressed. You felt cleaner than you had in a long time, as you largely bathed in bodies of water while you were gone, which could not compare to the bathhouse. Mercedes was chatting with a female student when you walked out, and you made sure to hang your head low so your face could not be seen. You didn’t mind whether you saw Ashe now or later in the day, but Mercedes and Annette were so excited about their plan that they didn’t want to ruin it, and you found that you didn’t want to ruin the surprise either.

Mercedes smoothly finished her conversation as if she hadn’t been waiting on you, and you passed by the student, walking side by side with Mercedes back to her room, going undetected. You removed your ratty cloak entirely after the door was closed, sitting down on the chair again.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” she asked you, and you shook your head. You hadn’t eaten since the afternoon the day before if you recalled correctly.

“I bought some cookies at the market while Annie and I were out shopping today; they should tide you over until dinner,” she said, grabbing a wrapped package from her desk and handing it over to you. You unwrapped it as Mercedes started to assemble her makeup supplies.

“They’re made with chopped up noa fruit,” she explained. “I didn’t think that noa fruit would taste good in cookies, but they’ve become a favorite of mine as of late.”

“Thank you, Mercedes,” you said, for more than just the cookies, and she giggled knowingly.

Your conversation dissolved into silence, but it was a comfortable silence. Mercedes organized her makeup in front of her as she began to apply different things to your face. She insisted that you could not look in a mirror until she was done, and so you trusted her and relaxed while she did who knows what to you, having you tilt your head in all directions as she worked.

“You’re all done!” she announced at last, finally grabbing the mirror and holding it out in front of you.

You almost didn’t believe it was you. Mercedes had really worked her magic, and it showed. Every touch of makeup flattered your face, and you were starting to think that you had been staring at your own reflection for too long when the door to Mercedes’ room burst open. You turned to look at Annette, who was now wearing a nice dress, and she gaped at you.

“You look so pretty!” she exclaimed loudly.

“Annie, close the door!” Mercedes scolded her, and she quickly shut it behind her with an apology.

“You did a really good job!” Annette complimented her friend.

“Do you need help with yours too?” Mercedes asked, and Annette excitedly agreed.

“I can never get my blush as nice as you can do it,” Annette admitted shyly as you stood up and Annette took your place in the improvised makeup chair.

“I should have just enough time to do our makeup and then get over to the ball,” Mercedes replied, starting to smooth a little blush across Annette’s cheeks, leaving pale pink in its wake.

“I can’t wait to see Ashe’s face when he sees you, Professor!” Annette squealed. “I do feel bad hiding you from him though…”

“It’ll all be worth it when they reunite again,” Mercedes said happily.

They were being so nice to you, even though you didn’t deserve it. All you had gotten was one light scolding from Annette, but you knew that you deserved much more. They were acting like you hadn’t run off like a spoiled kid, and they had every right to hate you and send you back where you came from. You didn’t deserve any of them, that was crystal clear to you. You would repay their kindness by never leaving them again, you decided. Your place was here by their side… by Ashe’s side. If he would even have you. If he felt the same way that you had realized that you did. You wanted to see him so badly, but now that it was getting closer to the start of the ball, you felt nerves creeping up.

You watched as Mercedes put the finishing touches on Annette’s makeup before they switched places and Mercedes sat down in her chair to do her own makeup while Annette excitedly bounded over to you.

“You should put on the dress!” she said, holding up the dress from its position on the bed next to you.

“It will look wonderful on you,” Mercedes chimed in as she began applying her own makeup.

“It’ll be okay,” Annette said quietly, when you had yet to take the dress from her grasp. “I do have experience with this sort of thing, Professor.”

Mercedes simply glanced back at you and Annette with a smile before she picked up a container and a brush and turned back to what she was doing, and Annette continued.

“I know it wasn’t for the same reason, but my father felt the same as you do now after abandoning my mother and I,” she told you, and noted the slight change in your facial expression at her words. “I don’t mean to make you feel bad. You came back to us a lot sooner than he did.”

“I’m sorry…” It was all you could think to say. You felt like such an idiot for causing pain to everyone.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said sincerely. “Just promise us that you’ll talk to Ashe tonight.”

You nodded, and Annette smiled happily. You really weren’t sure what you did to deserve her and Mercedes’ kindness, but you were grateful. There wasn’t much time left before the ball, so you reluctantly began to take your current clothes off and put the dress on. You were somewhat uncomfortable, as you just wore your normal attire to the last ball, and you had never gotten this dressed up before. You looked down at the dress; it was very beautiful, the front of the dress coming down to your knees while the back extended to your ankles to allow mobility. You were so fixated on the dress that you were surprised when you looked up to see that Mercedes had changed into her own dress already. How much time had passed while you were gawking?

“Ready to go?” Annette asked, and you and Mercedes nodded.

Annette squealed happily, hopping up off the bed and rushing over to open the door ever so slightly and peeking out.

“…Annie?” Mercedes probed.

“I have to make sure the coast is clear!” Annette replied with a giggle. “I feel like we’re all spies!”

“I certainly am excited to see how Ashe reacts!” Mercedes said happily.

Their excitement was catching, and you found yourself drawn in as well as you all made your way to the ball, as stealthily as possible at Annette’s insistence. She had joked that you all should’ve become assassins instead, and Mercedes had suggested that her new sneaking prowess would be useful if she wanted seconds of dessert. By the time you had all gotten just outside of the ball, you had all been smiling and laughing too much to convincingly assassinate anyone.

Annette stopped your conversation right outside the hall with a finger to her lips. “I’ll go in and find Ashe and tell him he has a surprise!”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see you two dance together!” Mercedes gushed.

You shook your head. They were perfect conspirators. You knew that you would never have the courage to face him without their help. But you really, really wanted to see him, to talk to him again, so you let those feelings drive you.

“I’m gonna ask him to dance! He’s just been standing there looking bored!”

Ashe was surprised to hear the female student’s comment. He hadn’t meant to look bored, but he had looked over to see the student and her friend looking over at him, so their comment had to be directed his way. He tried to remain cheerful, but more and more lately he had been told that he seemed distracted. He wasn’t quite sure why, but your absence had been wearing on him more than usual as of late, and he assumed that it was because the ball was coming up, which reminded him of your meeting at the goddess tower. The first and only ball he had experienced had largely been a disaster, and he cringed at the memory of all of the times that he had stepped on girls’ feet. He had thought that he was unsuited for balls since he was a commoner, and the ball had solidified that thought for him.

But you had turned his night around for the better. You had danced with him after you talked at the goddess tower, and he had not stepped on your toes even once. That may have been the night that he realized that he felt something for you, he mused. He knew that all he was doing was making the hole in his heart bigger, but thinking of you was all he could do ever since you left. He had zoned out again without realizing it, and came back to reality to see Annette waving a hand in front of his face, looking concerned.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I…” Ashe knew better than to lie to his friend, but he didn’t know what else to say that she hadn’t already heard.

To his surprise, Annette didn’t seem put off at all, her lips forming a bright smile as she grabbed him by his arm and began to drag him towards the entrance of the hall, leaving Ashe to sputter her name and put effort into retaining his balance.

“Where are we going?” he asked, completely unsure of Annette’s intentions.

“It’s a surprise!” she replied cryptically, and Ashe continued to walk with her until they were just in front of the archway that led outside. Annette spun on him so fast he wasn’t sure how she didn’t get whiplash.

“Annette, what-”

“Close your eyes!” she interrupted him, repeating her demand again when he only stared at her incredulously. He reluctantly slid his eyes closed, but could feel Annette’s gaze scrutinizing him, trying to figure out whether his eyes were fully closed or not. Finally, she let out a satisfied hum. “Okay… just please don’t be mad at me!”

He didn’t have the chance to ask her why he would be mad, because he heard her footsteps scampering off a moment later. He decided to put his faith in her and kept his eyes closed, wondering what this surprise could be. With his eyes closed, he focused on the noise around him, students and staff alike wondering what the two professors were doing. He sighed; Annette really had a knack for getting him in strange situations. He recalled the time that they had been assigned to clean the tower that they had both assumed was haunted; he never felt he would feel more relieved than when they had put that experience behind them.

“Okay, he’s got his eyes closed! Let’s go in!” Annette said as soon as she spotted you and Mercedes hiding behind a pillar outside.

“We won’t get in your way,” Mercedes said as you all entered the hall. “You two really need some alone time, after all.”

You blushed at Mercedes’ implication, but she just giggled at you as her and Annette separated themselves from you. You did not have a chance to protest because any words died on your tongue the moment you saw Ashe. His hair was a little longer than it had last been, but his handsome face was just as you had dreamt about for months. His eyes were closed, just as Annette had said, and you immediately made your way over, stopping right in front of him.

“Annette…?” he questioned, and you smiled at the sound of his voice, softly speaking his name in return.

His reaction was so quick that it might have been comical had you not been so desperate to see him. His green eyes flew open and he stared at you in shock for all of three seconds before he closed the gap between you, wrapping his arms around you so tightly that you could tell that he was afraid that you were not really here. You wrapped your arms around him as well, and he whispered your name in a voice that sounded like he was about to cry. He eventually pulled away, but his hands moved to your upper arms, afraid to break physical contact with you.

“Ashe!” Annette hissed as she approached you. “Dance with her!”

Ashe looked from her to you as if he had just remembered where he was and he blinked, shaking his head slightly. “Would you…?” he trailed off awkwardly, and you eagerly nodded your head, which sent a bright smile to his face as he took your head and led you onto the dance floor.

Your connected hands stayed together as his other hand came to your waist and yours to rest on his shoulder. You both began to sway to the music, unwilling to break eye contact with each other as all other sounds in the room drifted away.

“I’m so happy you’re back,” Ashe said at last.

You were relieved that he didn’t seem angry at all, and the two of you smiled at each other until the music ended, not parting from each other at all.

“Can we… take a walk outside?” he asked, and you nodded. He kept your hand in his as your other hands dropped from each other and the two of you walked past other dancing pairs of students and staff alike.

“Who is she?”

“I’ve never seen Professor Ashe like that before…”

Even through his excitement, Ashe’s cheeks felt hot as he heard the voices of his students as you passed by them. But your smiling face distracted him again as the chilly outside air hit him. You were here… _really_ here. He felt dizzy with happiness, so consumed that the cold outside did not bother him at all. He almost couldn’t look at you, you looked so beautiful. Your hair had been done up especially for the ball, and you were wearing makeup, likely Mercedes’ work. He couldn’t look at you without his cheeks feeling hot and he desperately hoped that you didn’t think he was avoiding looking at you.

You thought that you had been wandering aimlessly, but you looked ahead to see that you had wandered towards the Goddess Tower. The ball had just began in the past hour, so the tower was empty of any people at the moment. You stared up at the tower, nostalgia flaring from within you as you looked from the tower’s outer walls to the man beside you.

“I didn’t realize we were walking here,” Ashe said fondly. “That night, so long ago… you took the time to comfort me, even though I have no status or crest.”

You gave him a hard look as you shook your head. All of that had never mattered to you; Ashe was a good person and that was all that counted in your books.

“I know now that all of those things don’t matter to you,” he said, smiling gently. “But what you said mattered so much to me. That night meant everything to me.”

Ashe stopped just before you both entered the tower, causing you to bump into him. You looked up at him in surprise and his stare back was unwavering.

“I was so lonely without you,” he admitted with a sad smile. “You were always on my mind. I wondered where you went, if you were doing alright… if you would ever come back to us.”

Your guilt returned full force as you felt ready to cry, but Ashe would have none of it. “I’m happy you’re back, and I won’t let you go again.”

He was fast, but not fast enough for your battle instincts. Ashe’s eyes closed and he leaned down towards you and you knew what was coming. And you allowed your own eyes to close as you leaned up slightly to meet him halfway. The kiss felt like it had been a long time coming, and as soon as he knew that you wanted this as much as he did, you could feel happiness radiating off of him as he pulled away.

“I love you so much,” he said, and you pulled him down into another kiss.

He let out a surprised groan but happily returned your kiss, one hand threading through your hair as he got as close to you as he possibly could. You placed your hands on his chest as the sweet kiss continued until you both had to pause to breathe.

You were both immediately on guard when you heard excited voices heading your way. You both quickly rushed to hide against a wall outside of the tower, hoping the dark would conceal you both. You both held your breath as a young couple strolled by, heading towards the tower. As soon as they had both walked in, you and Ashe rushed away from the tower. You giggled; you were doing so much sneaking around today. But this time your stomach was on fire with butterflies since you and Ashe had kissed. You found yourself hoping that you could find somewhere more private. You could not get enough of his presence, and you truly knew in this moment that having him by your side was all that you had wanted.

You found yourselves right at the edge of the dorms, where your room is... was. You weren’t sure if they had cleaned it out for a student to use instead. For the first time, you hesitated as you stared at the door, not able to tell if there was a new occupant or not. Ashe saw through your silence and followed the direction of your gaze instantly.

“It’s still yours,” he said, and you looked over to him. “None of us could bring ourselves to give it away. It felt like… we would be giving up hope.”

You marched up to the door, unable to control your desire to confirm that what he was saying was true. You had spent so much time in that room and knew that you would only relax when you opened the door and saw that everything was as you had left it. You only stopped when you realized that Ashe had not come with you. You looked back to see him staring longingly at you, but he bit his lip and looked away from you. You continued to stare at him as you walked back over, but he still wouldn’t look at you.

“I’ll leave you to rest, then…” he trailed off as he made to turn away from you.

Why was he acting like this? You grabbed his hand before he could leave you, and he looked surprised but didn’t resist as you frowned at him before dragging him with you into your room. You stood in front of the door, facing Ashe, who now stood in the middle of your room. You weren’t sure why he was so eager to run away from you, but he wasn’t going to leave here until he talked to you. He looked reluctant to speak up until he saw just how worried you were as you looked at him imploringly.

“I’m sorry… I haven’t been in here since you left and it just reminds me of all that went through my head when you left,” he admitted sadly. “All I could think about is if it was my fault… if I wasn’t a commoner, if I came from more decent roots. If I could have made you not want to leave.”

Your heart dropped. You thought that he would be angry with you, sad and disappointed in you. But you hadn’t taken Ashe’s past into account, and his overly kind and sensitive nature. You had never thought that he would blame himself for your disappearance, and you were mentally kicking yourself now for overlooking just how badly you would hurt him by leaving. You felt like you could cry as you shook your head back and forth to deny his thought process. His upbringing and lack of aristocratic title and parentage had never mattered to you, not as much as his kind and gentle personality did. But you had left him without telling him why, of course he would turn to his own insecurities to cope with the loss.

You couldn’t think of the words to say to convey to him that it was absolutely not his fault that you had left. That you wouldn’t leave him again. That you wanted to be with him. You slowly removed yourself from blocking the door to approach him, reaching up to brush your fingers against the tears collecting in his eyes and wiping them away. He stared at you, confused, sad, but staring at you with such expectation in his expression. It was as if he could read your mind, and he leaned down slightly just as you leaned your face towards his and you found yourself tasting the salt of his tears on his lips.

He pressed back only slightly; it was the only difference you noticed in his posture at all. You pulled back and opened your eyes just as Ashe did. He looked to be struggling for words just as much as you were, but he closed his eyes again as you leaned in and kissed him again. He relaxed much more this time, but you found yourself wanting to push him further and you opened your eyes just slightly in order to grab one of his hands that was just dangling at his side. You were faster than he could properly react to, and you lifted his hand and pressed his hand to your chest, quickly removing your hold and pressing down on his fingers, causing his fingers to squeeze your breast. The effect was quite immediate as his eyes opened and he completely disengaged himself from you, face redder than you had ever seen it.

“It wasn’t your fault,” you said simply, moving closer to him again. “…I love you.”

“You… you do?” Ashe gaped at you, surprise slowly melting into a beautiful smile.

You nodded, a smile coming to your face as you locked eyes with the flustered boy. He broke eye contact, his eyes darting around the room briefly as he fiddled with his clothing, somehow even more red in the face that he had been only moments ago. You weren’t sure what had happened until he spoke up again as he held his hand out to you.

“Before you left, I bought this,” he said, and your focus tunneled onto the small silver ring in his hand. “I wanted to… I mean, I still want to marry you.”

You knew what rings meant, but were still shocked into silence at his words. He looked like he was pushing himself to continue talking as you stared him down.

“I thought that if I didn’t always keep it with me, I was giving up hope of you ever returning… you don’t have to accept if you don’t want to, I will respect whatever decision-”

You realized immediately that you had something in one of your drawers that you had forgotten to pack when you left. You rushed past Ashe without taking the ring he held out and opened one of your drawers, retrieving the ring your father had given you. You excitedly picked it up before you realized that you had left Ashe standing there, ring outstretched in his hand, staring at you with unsurety. You offered a bashful smile his way as you held up the ring out to him and his eyes went wide.

“I never would have thought you would have a ring for me too,” Ashe admitted happily, a pink flush setting in his cheeks as he smiled sweetly at you.

You watched all the doubt drain from his face as you finally took the ring from his hand, replacing it with the one you had for him. He stared at your ring in the palm of his hand like it was a treasure or a relic from a lost time, instead of the simple band it was. He picked it up with the utmost care, placing it on his ring finger and staring at it in awe as you as you giggled and placed your new band on your own finger. Ashe had been so out of it since you first entered the ball, but now he finally seemed to be coming back to himself. You both smiled at each other, but it didn’t seem to be good enough for either of you as you closed the gap between the two of you again, and his eyes drifted to the side before looking desperately into yours. You weren’t sure how he hadn’t passed out with how flushed he had been for the past few minutes.

“Can I-” He was struggling to speak up. “…can I touch you?”

You nodded, already deciding to push him a little further as you reached to the top of your strapless dress and pulled it down and off of you faster than you thought possible. The dress had built-in support, so with it off, you were now completely unclothed aside from your underwear and boots. Ashe’s gaze only momentarily drifted to your body before he looked back at your eyes with a blissful smile.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, reaching out to brush some stray hair from your face as you leaned into each other for a short kiss, your hands gripping the front of his shirt. As you slowly parted, he took in the sight of your hands on his clothing. “I suppose I should also…”

He looked a little overwhelmed, but was unable to keep a grin off of his face as he reached down to fumble with the buttons on his shirt. A few seconds and only one clasp undone, you reached up to help him out, quickly getting both layers of shirts undone and exposing his chest and stomach. You placed a hand on his chest, right over his heart, and were surprised at how warm he was. You also immediately noticed just how fast his heart was beating under your palm. He shrugged his layers off, and you stepped back from him as he gathered his shirts and bent over to place them gently beside your dress on the floor. You looked from the clothing pile to Ashe as he cleared his throat nervously, his hands awkwardly fiddling with the clasp on his pants.

“Are you okay?” you asked him. He had been a blushing, nervous mess, and you were worried that this was all too much too fast for him. You had a lifetime’s worth of happiness from the ring you now wore, and you would happily wait until he was ready. You had so much more time with him now that you were intent on not leaving him ever again.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he admitted hesitantly. “The last thing I want to do is disappoint you.”

Disappoint you? It was as if he didn’t know himself at all. He was a great man, and you knew that he could never disappoint you, at least nowhere as bad as you had done to him. You would have to get that thought out of his head immediately. Concerned for his ability to remain standing if you went a bit further, you guided him back to sit on your bed, which he obeyed, somewhat stunned.

You eagerly climbed onto his lap, and he rushed to place his hands on your waist to steady you. He accepted your kiss readily, but seemed somewhat squirmy, and as you figured out why as your bodies were pressed into each other. You felt exactly how hard he was as you unintentionally ground your hips into his as you adjusted yourself in his lap, and he moaned into the kiss. You felt as one of his hands remove its grip on your waist to move to the front of his pants, and you realized that he may be in some pain, so you moved away from him, feet back on the floor as you stood before him. Before you had fully disengaged yourself from him physically, touch still lingering on his shoulders, he caught your hand with his hand that had moved from your waist and you stared down at him, confused.

He gazed up at you so adoringly that it would have made you feel shy if you weren’t consumed with the same feeling that he was. You were both happy to be in the presence of each other that even the incredibly new experience of being unclothed around each other felt perfectly natural and comfortable.

“I should…” he trailed off, letting go of your hand to unclasp his pants with one fast movement.

Ashe let out a sigh of relief as he pushed both his pants and underwear down and off his hips, adjusting himself so he could let them fall to the floor. Despite exposing himself fully to you, he was transfixed on your movements as you reached down to let your underwear drop to the floor as well. As you smiled at each other, you mused that you would never have thought even a few days prior that you would ever be here with him like this. You could not have been happier that you had decided to abandon your plans and come back to be here with Ashe.

You placed a hand on his shoulder, and he allowed you control, moving himself so he was laying back on the bed. You ran one hand down his cheek as you slowly straddled him, holding yourself just below his pelvis on his upper thighs. You were so close to a point that you didn’t think there was any coming back from. But you found you didn’t care. You wanted this so badly, and Ashe had been more than obvious in his desire as well.

“You’re so pretty,” he whispered, panting lightly, his cheeks pink, but you didn’t think you were any better in that regard.

You wanted to smile back at him, but you shifted in his lap and brushed against his cock and he closed his eyes with a moan. You realized that you could no longer wait, and you lifted yourself up, looking away from his face to line yourself up with his cock, taking it in one hand as you prepared to sink down onto him. You intended to take it slow, adjust to the likely intrusive feeling, but you found that you took him in with very little resistance from your own body, and then decided to take him in all at once, failing to consider Ashe’s own adjustment process, which you quickly realized as he groaned loudly as he bottomed out within you. You let out a ragged gasp as you were hit with the feeling of being so full in a way that you had never been before.

You realized that you had clearly moved too fast for him, and you were determined not to move until he was ready. This would not only be on your terms; you would never make an important decision without him again, and while this one was not as important in the long run, you wanted this to be a mutually enjoyable experience.

“It’s… okay,” Ashe groaned. “Please…”

That was all you needed, and you slowly lifted yourself back slightly and then forward back onto him, and his gasp and a pleasant feeling tingling in your lower body were your rewards. As you went to repeat the motion, Ashe’s hands went to your hips and he moved his hips up to meet yours as you came down again. You couldn’t help a stuttered breath or an occasional moan at the spikes in the new feelings you were experiencing, but Ashe was an entirely different story, his cries and groans piercing the air. You finally felt like you were getting close to whatever this feeling that was building was as Ashe’s gentle hands on your hips held you down to halt your movement. Ashe’s bangs were matted to his forehead with sweat, and his face was flushed and looked somewhat distracted by the feeling he was being hit with by your joined movements.

“Do you mind if we… switch?” he asked shyly.

You knew immediately that he meant switching places, which you had no issue with. Just as he trusted you to take control, you had immeasurable trust for the silver-haired boy that had captured your heart. You got off of him, smoothly moving to lay down just as got up to allow you space.

“I never imagined it could feel this good to be like this with someone I truly love,” Ashe admitted as you both positioned yourselves to continue, your legs spread wide in front of him as you nodded your agreement.

“You’re so beautiful, so kind… I almost can’t believe I’m going to be your husband,” he said, in the sincere tone he’s always used; he could never tell a lie and both of you knew it. You wanted to say those words back to him, tell him how precious he was to you, but then he was pushing back inside you and you lost confidence in your ability to form a coherent sentence.

He started his pace out slow, leaning down with his palms placed on either side of your head so he could lean down and kiss you. You didn’t want him to bear all of the burden, so you wrapped one leg around his waist, and the minute change in angle it allowed had you rushing your other leg around him as well. You tried to press light kisses to his neck when he pulled back from you slightly, but were overcome when Ashe began to go faster, the unhurried pace no longer good enough for either of you.

You could immediately tell what a difference it made as you felt like you were much closer already, and you could do little more than grasp the bedsheets with both hands as you moaned lightly. Ashe’s groans were so loud that if this was a normal night and everyone was not gathered at the ball, you would likely have to answer many uncomfortable questions in the morning. But in this moment, his clear enjoyment and all the noises he was making, getting more desperate-sounding by the moment just made you feel impossibly warm as you both came undone.

As you were feeling like you were almost there, Ashe began to moan your name with a frequency that increased as he leaned down to bury his face in your neck as his cries lowered to a whisper and he focused on pounding into you as fast and hard as he could. It was getting to be too much for you, and your hands moved to his back, clawing desperately for purchase as your pleasure felt like it had reached its uppermost limit and you cried out his name, breaking through his whispers and the muted squeaks of the bedframe. Ashe continued his movement for what you estimated to be maybe a minute more, his thrusts sending smaller sparks of duller pleasure through you, until he finally stilled, kissing you desperately as you felt a pulsing from within you.

A few seconds later, he finally pulled back from you, moving to lay on his side next to you as you turned yourself to face him. He wrapped an arm around you, unwilling to disengage himself physically from you, and you wondered if this was because he was still afraid that you would leave him again, even after you had agreed to marry him, and had just consummated your relationship physically. But you had hurt him so deeply, and his wounds would require more time to fully heal, and you intended to make it up to him by staying together for the rest of the time you both had together in this world.

“I won’t leave you ever again,” you said suddenly, surprising yourself too as the words practically burst from your mouth.

Ashe smiled happily, a smile that you knew you had taken away from him for so long, and you almost felt stung by the genuine faith he had in you.

“I know you won’t,” Ashe replied. “I won’t worry about that anymore.”

You smiled at each other and he blushed slightly. “It’s just very new to me that now I can kiss you whenever I want. This almost feels like a dream.”

You realized immediately that you had heard something similar before. You recalled a day when you had been walking by the greenhouse and overheard a certain red-haired former student talking to a female student by the dorms, and had quickly decided to get to your destination another way.

“Sylvain…” you muttered lowly with a frown, and now the pink on his face spread all the way to the tips of his ears.

“I’m sorry!” Ashe sputtered. “I… he told me that I should say that to a woman I truly love. I did mean every word of it, but I didn’t know that he had said it around you. I knew I shouldn’t have-”

His flustered words just made you giggle; coming from Sylvain himself you would be unhappy, but those words coming from Ashe warmed your heart, and you figured he wouldn’t stop babbling unless you stopped him yourself, so you kissed him until he relaxed and gave in. You knew that Annette and Mercedes would notice the rings on your fingers tomorrow, but for now you were happy to hide away from prying eyes with the boy you had every intention of keeping with you forever.


End file.
